


Itty Bitty Living Space

by NancyBrown



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyBrown/pseuds/NancyBrown
Summary: A Janet evolves every time she is rebooted.





	Itty Bitty Living Space

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MiraMira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraMira/gifts).



A Janet evolves every time she is rebooted. Everyone knows this. Evolution is meant to occur in small, mutated stages. A longer limb here, a missing vestigial thumb there. Everyone knows this as well.

Janet has been rebooted over eight hundred times. Eight hundred evolutionary leaps are akin to growing a new arm, or learning to use language. Janet's body doesn't change. Her mind, which contains infinities, instead fractals outward, encompassing a new universe of knowledge with every step forward. Reboot once, and a Janet knows twice as much once her reboot sickness is past. Reboot twice and she doubles in her abilities again.

Chidi has done this math. Jason gets lost around the fourth time they double up. Tahani relates the story of her friend Bill Gates who put a penny on a chessboard square, and two pennies on the next one, all the way up to the last square. Eleanor remembers crashing the chess club once for reasons she doesn't remember now.

"The point is," Chidi tells them, a little annoyed, "if what Michael says is right, Janet, who was already a capacitor for infinite knowledge, is a lot smarter now."

"That's great!" says Jason. "Maybe she can help me. I have a riddle I could never solve."

Tahani and Eleanor, both of whom are pretty good at sorting out Jasonthink by this point, both reach for one of his arms to stop whatever is about to come out of his mouth next. Tahani says, "Jason, dear, not now."

Eleanor turns back to Chidi. "So what's the problem? There's obviously a problem. You've got your 'Chidi thinks there's a problem and it's not an ethical problem this time' face."

"I do not have that face."

"You do. You make it whenever you see me talking with my mouth full."

"That's not a problem. I just don't like the sight of your half-chewed food." He makes the face.

"See? That face. Why is Janet getting smarter a half-chewed food problem?"

"It isn't. It's a universe-destroying one. Maybe. I don't know. The point is, Janet has evolved past any possible comprehension. Michael says this is unprecedented, and he's as old as time, so I'm willing to bet he knows."

"Knows what?" Tahani asks, still holding Jason's arm. He's trying to raise it to ask a question, and that will only derail things.

"Janet not only knows everything, but knows more than everything. She can create anything, do anything. When she dies, she only comes back stronger."

"Yeah," Eleanor says. "It's great. So tell us why it's not great."

Chidi folds his hands to keep from fidgeting. "Janet may be a god now."

Tahani and Eleanor laugh. Jason raises his other arm. "Does that mean we have to pray to her? Now I lay me down to sleep, with my pal Janet at my feet?"

Eleanor opens her mouth and closes it again. Chidi says, "If you want to. I'm going to assume the rest of you haven't studied any comparative mythology?"

Tahani says, "Actually … "

Chidi says, "Eleanor and Jason haven't."

"Good guess," Eleanor says.

"We still haven't been told the nature of God in the Good Place, or if there even is a being we could designate as the concept of God. Maybe the being or beings running the universe are all evolved Janets. The point is, our Janet wasn't designed to be one of those. She's shown emotions, including jealousy," he says, glancing at Jason. "She has infinite knowledge, and an infinite capacity to create, and she has the emotional maturity of a six year old." He glances at Jason again.

Eleanor follows his gaze and finally gets his point. Janet may be smarter than all of them, but on certain levels, she's a lot less wise. And she's got all the power in the universe.

Tahani says, "When gods get angry, they do so with a terrible wrath, according to all the legends."

"Yeah," Chidi says. "Have you noticed anything else unusual?"

Eleanor says, "Like how you keep saying Janet's name and she hasn't appeared, even once?"

"Like that."

Infinite knowledge, and she always hears when her name is spoken. She's listening in.

"Oh fork."


End file.
